Choosing a charting component for
any organization is a complex task because the selection will have to be made
considering both the present and future needs of the organization. It requires
a careful evaluation of requirements.
In this section, I have compared some of the popular charting components suitable for hybrid app
development –
S No
|
Description
|
Charts
|
Advantage
|
Remark/Comment
|
1
|
Using <div> tag
as placeholder for charts helps developer to adjust height/width eaisly into
the HTML page
|
amCharts
|
✓
|
Uses <div> tag
|
Highcharts
|
✓
|
Uses <div> tag
|
||
RGraph
|
Uses <canvas>
tag
|
|||
Flot
|
✓
|
Uses <div> tag
|
||
ZingCharts
|
Uses <canvas>
tag
|
|||
2
|
<div> tag is
supported by all browsers whaeras <canvas> is a new HTML standard.
|
amCharts
|
✓
|
All browser support
|
Highcharts
|
✓
|
All browser support
|
||
RGraph
|
Only supported by
HTML5 compliance browsers
|
|||
Flot
|
✓
|
All browser support
|
||
ZingCharts
|
Only supported by
HTML5 compliance browsers
|
|||
3
|
SVG scene graph is a
old and stable way to represent graph/chart. SVG is like a "draw"
program whereas HTML5 is a "paint" program and is a new concept.
|
amCharts
|
✓
|
Uses SVG scene graph
|
Highcharts
|
✓
|
Uses SVG scene graph
|
||
RGraph
|
Uses HTML5 Canvas
|
|||
Flot
|
Unknown
|
|||
ZingCharts
|
Uses HTML5 Canvas
|
|||
4
|
Can eaisly change
according to the landscape/potrait orientation of the device.
|
amCharts
|
✓
|
|
Highcharts
|
✓
|
|||
RGraph
|
Difficult to achieve
this functionality in RGraph
|
|||
Flot
|
||||
ZingCharts
|
||||
5
|
Enables event handlers
to be associated with objects
|
amCharts
|
✓
|
|
Highcharts
|
✓
|
|||
RGraph
|
Not possible
|
|||
Flot
|
Unknown
|
|||
ZingCharts
|
Unknown
|
|||
6
|
Includes meter charts
|
amCharts
|
Meter charts not
supported
|
|
Highcharts
|
✓
|
|||
RGraph
|
✓
|
|||
Flot
|
Meter charts not
supported
|
|||
ZingCharts
|
Unknown
|
|||
7
|
High quality.Nice
visually.
|
amCharts
|
✓
|
|
Highcharts
|
||||
RGraph
|
||||
Flot
|
||||
ZingCharts
|
✓
|
|||
8
|
3D Charts
|
amCharts
|
✓
|
|
Highcharts
|
||||
RGraph
|
||||
Flot
|
||||
ZingCharts
|
✓
|
|||
9
|
Good Documentation and
Online Support
|
amCharts
|
✓
|
|
Highcharts
|
✓
|
|||
RGraph
|
✓
|
|||
Flot
|
Limited Support &
documentation
|
|||
ZingCharts
|
✓
|
|||
10
|
Build chart online
with the help of Chart builder
|
amCharts
|
||
Highcharts
|
||||
RGraph
|
||||
Flot
|
||||
ZingCharts
|
✓
|
From the above comparisons it is quite obvious that
each charting tool has its pros and cons. But, as per my view there is a
competition between Highcharts and amCharts.
When I started with charting I found amCharts to be
more documented and user friendly than Highchart, but if you check on the net,
there is huge fan base for Highchart!
Think twice if you want meter charts, amCharts do
not support meter charts and is a big disadvantage in this area. If you are
looking for visuals, amCharts are smooth and nice with 3D chart support.
Reference links -
https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/gallery/controls#programmatic_change
http://bimeanalytics.com/blog/which-chart/
Reference links -
https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/gallery/controls#programmatic_change
http://bimeanalytics.com/blog/which-chart/